Hydrocarbons, such as oil and gas, are commonly obtained from subterranean formations that may be located onshore or offshore. The development of subterranean operations and the processes involved in removing hydrocarbons from a subterranean formation typically involve a number of different steps such as, for example, drilling a wellbore at a desired well site, treating the wellbore to optimize production of hydrocarbons, and performing the necessary steps to produce and process the hydrocarbons from the subterranean formation.
After drilling a wellbore that intersects a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation, a variety of wellbore tools may be positioned in the wellbore during completion, production, or remedial activities. It is common practice in completing oil and gas wells to set a string of tubular, known as known as a production tubing string, in the well to direct hydrocarbons from a perforated section of the formation to the surface. A travel joint may be used in a production tubing string for installing a tubing hanger inside a wellhead after engaging the completion equipment with the production tubing string. The travel joint allows the production tubing string to shorten by axially telescoping the assembly, in order to effectively land the tubing hanger in the wellhead while the production tubing string is stabbed into the completion equipment at the bottom of the well.
Existing travel joints are often deployed from the surface in an extended position. After landing the production tubing at the bottom of the well, the travel joint is then released for telescoping or longitudinally collapsing by any suitable means until the tubing hanger is landed in the wellhead. However, such travel joints typically do not account for temperature changes that might otherwise force the travel joint in an extended direction instead of a collapsed direction when the travel joint is released. In addition, applying pressure to the tubing string to actuate an additional tool via hydraulic pressure through the production tubing may lead to residual tension or compression force on the tubing, and this force may be transferred to the travel joint when the travel joint is released. This could cause moving parts of the travel joint to move relative to each other at relatively high speeds, transferring undesirable stresses in control lines routed through the travel joint.